Written by Jane Scupham, principal
With spring weather finally coming to Valparaiso, my thoughts have been turning to the time my family lived in Germany and enjoyed its incredibly beautiful spring weather. We traveled to many towns and cities, taking in the sights and relishing the warmth. New life bloomed all around us. Our travels usually brought us to some medieval church or abbey, where we strolled through the vacant stone corridors trying to imagine what life must have been like for the religious men or women who lived there. One town we visited was Bingen on the Rhine River. Eibingen Abbey, the home of medieval abbess and mystic, Hildegard of Bingen (1098- 1179) was located there. Hildegard is known for her writings on a variety of subjects.
For your reflection, here is one of her writings on spring:
O fire of the Holy Spirit,
life of the life
of all living beings:
You are wholly sacred.
You give shape to all forms.
O most courageous path,
penetrating all places:
the heights of the heavens,
the contours of the earth,
the depths of every abyss.
You gather everything together
and safely bind it.
Clouds spin out from you.
Air unfolds from you.
Stones derive their temperaments from you.
Rivers spring forth from your waters
and earth exudes her green vitality.
--Hildegard of Bingen